980Ti advice

[IndyColtsFan]

I ended up buying the MSI 980Ti Gaming 6G. With rewards, gift cards, etc, it will end up costing me about $350 out-of-pocket. Thanks everyone!

 

[Actaeon]

I have the same Chase Freedom card with the same benefits and I took advantage of this offer and got a 980 Ti late last month. 10% back this is a very generous offer so I understand why you want to upgrade now.

I would skip the expensive Lightning and buy the least expensive 'good' 980 Ti available off Amazon. 'Good' being defined by what you want (non reference cooler, factory OC, backplate, certain brands, etc).

Also FYI that if you buy from a 3rd party, you may be able to skip the taxes but still get 10% back from Chase as long as the purchase is done through Amazon.com webpage. This assumes you can find the card you're looking for at a price competitive to Amazon directly.

An alternative I haven't seen recommended yet is to buy $500-$700 or so worth of gift certificates to yourself, you'll still get the 10% back off the GC purchase, but you can spend that gift certificate balance after the new year if you need more time to decide. Based on the gift giving I did earlier this year, I can confirm that you will get 10% back on a GC purchase. Downside is that it locks you into Amazon but if you were going to shop there anyway, this is a good approach. I am thinking of buying a few hundred bucks for the 10% back and letting it sit on my account just so I can use it later in the year.

Also your window is closing, I think the transaction has to close before the rewards rollover. So even if you order on the 31st, if it doesn't ship until the 1st or 2nd, it may not hit your card until after the rewards window has closed so I don't think you'll get the 10% back, so act soon.

 

[Actaeon]

Looks like I was a little late to reply. In any case, the MSI Gaming 980 Ti 6G is a nice card and I think still has the $30 rebate too. Enjoy the card! You'll be very happy with your 980 Ti.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I have the same Chase Freedom card with the same benefits and I took advantage of this offer and got a 980 Ti late last month. 10% back this is a very generous offer so I understand why you want to upgrade now.

I would skip the expensive Lightning and buy the least expensive 'good' 980 Ti available off Amazon. 'Good' being defined by what you want (non reference cooler, factory OC, backplate, certain brands, etc).

Also FYI that if you buy from a 3rd party, you may be able to skip the taxes but still get 10% back from Chase as long as the purchase is done through Amazon.com webpage. This assumes you can find the card you're looking for at a price competitive to Amazon directly.

An alternative I haven't seen recommended yet is to buy $500-$700 or so worth of gift certificates to yourself, you'll still get the 10% back off the GC purchase, but you can spend that gift certificate balance after the new year if you need more time to decide. Based on the gift giving I did earlier this year, I can confirm that you will get 10% back on a GC purchase. Downside is that it locks you into Amazon but if you were going to shop there anyway, this is a good approach. I am thinking of buying a few hundred bucks for the 10% back and letting it sit on my account just so I can use it later in the year.

Also your window is closing, I think the transaction has to close before the rewards rollover. So even if you order on the 31st, if it doesn't ship until the 1st or 2nd, it may not hit your card until after the rewards window has closed so I don't think you'll get the 10% back, so act soon.

Hmmm, you may be on to something. Maybe I should buy a few hundred in Amazon gift cards before the end of the year. I usually place 120-150 orders with Amazon every year, so I'd certainly use them.

 

[moonbogg]

I ended up buying the MSI 980Ti Gaming 6G. With rewards, gift cards, etc, it will end up costing me about $350 out-of-pocket. Thanks everyone!

Nice move. Hit the deck! Huge ass FPS increase incoming!

 

[Arachnotronic]

I ended up buying the MSI 980Ti Gaming 6G. With rewards, gift cards, etc, it will end up costing me about $350 out-of-pocket. Thanks everyone!

Congrats!!

 

[guskline]

I ended up buying the MSI 980Ti Gaming 6G. With rewards, gift cards, etc, it will end up costing me about $350 out-of-pocket. Thanks everyone!

Great selection. Welcome to the GTX980TI club. Great gpus!:thumbsup:

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Great selection. Welcome to the GTX980TI club. Great gpus!:thumbsup:

Thanks. I caught it on sale on Amazon for $623 and literally the next day, it went back up to $659.

 

[moonbogg]

So HOW DOES IT RUN? Explain what its like to enjoy your new 980TI from your perspective. Did you smell it? I always smell my new hardware.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

So HOW DOES IT RUN? Explain what its like to enjoy your new 980TI from your perspective. Did you smell it? I always smell my new hardware.

I like it. I see a huge jump in FPS in Ark but haven't tested others. I did have a USB issue after installing the card but I think I've managed to fix it after moving things around a bit. I do think that I can probably skip Broadwell E and wait for Skylake E - if my upgrade itch doesn't consume me, that is.

 

[guskline]

The GTX 980 TI is a strong gpu so you should be fine unless you play with an overclocked 5960x and "feel" the power of 8 cores/16 threads!

 

[moonbogg]

The GTX 980 TI is a strong gpu so you should be fine unless you play with an overclocked 5960x and "feel" the power of 8 cores/16 threads!

That sounds nice, but such an experience would be greatly amplified if you give your hardware a nice sniffing session before installation. I see people around here are ashamed to admit they enjoy the smell of new hardware, but I have no such shame. The smell of fresh, beautiful PCB's and powerful circuits fills my nose and enters my brain, providing much euphoria upon receipt of new PC parts. When I received my water cooling rads, I just shoved my nose against the fins. It was one hell of an experience. Those aren't electronics, but they are close enough to provide a good sniffing session.

 

[Freddy1765]

I love the smell of (new) hardware in the morning.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

The smell of new hardware is pretty rewarding for sure. I love when I build a new rig and open up all the goodies - it is almost intoxicating!

 

[moonbogg]

The smell of new hardware is pretty rewarding for sure. I love when I build a new rig and open up all the goodies - it is almost intoxicating!

Exactly! That's precisely it. That plastic/electronics smell adds a lot to the experience. Its like a new car smell. If you place your nose right up to the GPU's exhaust fan you can really get a good whiff.
But seriously, when removing the plastic from a brand new GPU box and you smell the perfectly fresh, brand new packaging and then remove the GPU from it and the super clean and fresh PCB and circuitry smell fills the air, ahhhh that's bliss. It smells like countless hours of PC gaming fun. It actually smells like power! Power and awesomeness actually have an odor.